Hello! My name is crystal fletcher. If you're new to all about canadian books Welcome! And, if you’re returning, Welcome Back! This week’s guest is Sophie Stocking.

Sophie has a very diverse career—​social work, architecture, and motherhood. She also pursued fiction at the Alexandra Writer’s Centre and at the University of Calgary.

We chatted about Sophie’s collection of short stories Walking Leonard & Other Stories, which was published by Guernica Editions.

These stories depict unspoken pivot points in the lives of ordinary people. Themes include responsibility and violation between parent and child, nature as a protective force, and the shucking off of various selves in the process of a lifetime. The stories spring from the foothills of southern Alberta, specifically Calgary, and some even more specifically from the historic neighbourhood of Bowness.

Also included in this interview is some fabulous advice for writers. Sophie says..."ignore some of the advice that's out there!" (love this :))

​I hope you enjoyed our interview and Sophie's reading from Walking Leonard and Other Stories. ​To learn more about Sophie

Hope you enjoyed our discussion and book reading as much as I did.

Thank you, Bernardine for the great writing tip. Fellow writers, find what works best for you and for Bernardine it is...to show up and greet her day with writing whether she feels like it or not. If you would like to learn more about Bernardine 

Hi! My name is crystal fletcher. If you are new to the program Welcome! And, if you’re returning Welcome Back! This week, I have two very special guests Chief Mi’sel Joe and Sheila O’Neill.

Saqamaw Mi’sel Joe is an author. He has been the District Traditional Chief of Miawpukek First Nation since 1983 and is considered the Spiritual Chief of the Mi’kmaq Newfoundland and Labrador.

Sheila O'Neill is an author, Drum Carrier and carries many teachings passed down by respected Elders and a member of Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nation. She is a founding member and past president of the Newfoundland Aboriginal Women's Network and, has been part of a grassroots movement of empowerment of Indigenous women within the island portion of Newfoundland and Labrador.

We discussed ​My Indian which was published by Breakwater Books. In 1822, William Epps Cormack sought the expertise of a guide who could lead him across Newfoundland in search of the last remaining Beothuk camps on the island. In his journals, Cormack refers to his guide only as “My Indian.”

​Now, almost two hundred years later, Saqamaw Mi’sel Joe and Sheila O’Neill reclaim the story of Sylvester Joe, the Mi’kmaq guide engaged by Cormack. In a remarkable feat of historical fiction, My Indian follows Sylvester Joe from his birth to his journey across the island with Cormack. But will Sylvester Joe lead Cormack to the Beothuk, or will he protect the Beothuk and lead his colonial explorer away?

For the stories behind the book you can watch our interview below. Also featured is Shelia reading an excerpt from My Indian. And, determination, patience, if you have a story you need to tell--tell it...is the advice these authors have for writers.

Wela'lioq, Saqamaw Mi’sel Joe and Sheila O’Neill.

Honest. Brave. Vulnerable.
Hollay Ghadery discusses her memoir Fuse
which explores the documented prevalence of mental health issues in bi-racial women.​

To learn more about Hollay Ghadery

Hi! My name is crystal fletcher and welcome to this week’s episode of all about canadian books. I'm delighted to have Felicia Mihali as a guest. Felicia is a journalist, novelist and publisher who lives in Montréal. She has written 12 novels and we discussed Felicia’s latest Pineapple Kisses in Iqaluit which was published by Guernica Editions.

​Ten years after her picture on a magazine cover made her nationally famous as The Darling of Kandahar, Irina moves up North hoping that new experiences would allow old wounds to finally heal. Yet, in the land of darkness and polar bears, she learns that there really is no place to hide from herself. When she meets Constable Liam O'Connor, her past comes out to challenge her once again. ​

Felicia also discusses writing in English (her 5th language). I am in AWE of this. To learn more about Felicia and her other novels

I LOVE an accent and I could listen to Felicia read all day. Felicia's advice for writers is to write about things you know well. Be Sincere. Be honest--with yourself and your readers.

Hi! My name is crystal fletcher and welcome to all about canadian books. This week's guest is Catherine McKenzie. Catherine was born and raised in Montreal, practiced law for twenty years and now writes full time. When Catherine is not writing she’s an avid runner, skier and tennis player. We discussed her eleventh novel Six Weeks to Live which was published by Simon & Schuster. 

​What would you do if you had to solve your own murder?

Jennifer Barnes never expected the shocking news she received at a routine doctor’s appointment: she has a terminal brain tumor—and only six weeks left to live.

While stunned by the diagnosis, the forty-eight-year-old mother decides to spend what little time she has left with her family—her adult triplets and twin grandsons—close by her side. But when she realizes she was possibly poisoned a year earlier, she’s determined to discover who might have tried to get rid of her before she’s gone for good...

And can I just say...Wow! what an ending! 

To learn more about Catherine McKenzie and to check out her other books

According to Catherine if you want to be a better writer you need to read more. As an avid reader I love this advice. No problem Catherine, I will up my book intake. 

Catherine also reads from the first chapter of her novel and she puts me right in the doctor's office with her character Jennifer Barnes when she receives the shocking news she is dying.

Hi! My name is crystal fletcher and welcome to this week’s episode of all about canadian books. I’m very excited to have Quebec author Andrèe A. Gratton and translator, Ian Thomas Shaw as guests.

Andrèe A. Gratton studied philosophy and classical studies in Montreal, Berlin and Strasbourg. She teaches philosophy in Montreal and loves swimming in cold water (I had to ask her about this)!

Ian Thomas Shaw is a novelist, translator, editor, former Canadian diplomat and development officer who has lived in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Ian speaks English, French, German, Spanish and some Arabic.

We discussed Andrèe's award-winning debut novel Choosing Eleonore which was published by Guernica Editions and Editions de la Pleine Lune, in French.

Choosing Eleonore tells the story of a one-way friendship. It explores the delusion of being loved. This is Marianne's story. Marianne is obsessed with Eleonore. From the first sentence..."Long before we met, Eleonore was dreaming of me. Not me with this hair, these two hands or the sound of my voice. No. Of me as a friend, an ideal friend," we feel that something is wrong in her perception of reality.

But who is this Eleonore, whom Marianne had never spoken to? What is so fascinating about her? Neither humiliation, rebuffs, rejection will disabuse Marianne of her certainty of being loved by Eleonore.

I was SO intrigued by both Marianne and Eleonore. To find out more about these women you'll have to read Choosing Eleonore.

To learn more about about Ian Thomas Shaw

For a peak into Marianne's delusional mindset, click below.

​Merci Andrèe A. Gratton & Ian Thomas Shaw! 

To learn more about Wayne and to check out his fantastic travel pictures